Stability is an attribute that high school football coaches love
to associate with the quarterback position.

That is made easier when the previous season's starter jumps right
back into the huddle, bringing experience, respect and leadership
with him.

That isn't the case this year at either Desert Vista or Mountain
Pointe.

The Thunder has three quarterbacks battling for the starting spot.
The Pride has a starter, but he is at his fourth high school in
three years.

It's not the ideal situation, but it also doesn't mean that it puts
a team in a losing situation, either.

"Our quarterback last year didn't really play varsity before and he
did a fine job," Mountain Point coach Norris Vaughan said of
then-senior Austin Blom, who had six pass attempts as a junior. "He
did a good job of facilitating the offense.

"It all comes down to what you want from the position and matching
it to what he can do."

Vaughan did a great job of that last season when Blom helped
Mountain Pointe to an undefeated regular season before finishing
12-1.

The veteran coach will attempt to do the same thing with junior
Kyle Faunce, who enrolled in Mountain Pointe last April.

Faunce is finally settling into a place after leaving Indianapolis,
where he played in the final three games at Cathedral High as a
freshman, for Arizona prior to last school year.

He landed at Scottsdale Saguaro, but it wasn't a smooth transition
after initially winning the starting position. Faunce eventually
faced disciplinary action, lost his starting position and then
broke his arm once he returned.

In total, Faunce has played six games his first two seasons at the
high school level.

"He is tough, but he was injured and doesn't have much experience,"
Vaughan said. "He can make plays and do things with his feet and
arm. He is going to be a great quarterback once he learns what we
need him to do; Kyle will do some great things at Mountain Pointe
before he graduates."

Faunce enrolled at Pinnacle once the season was over after the
lease on the family's apartment ran out. They rented a place in
Phoenix before finding a home in Ahwatukee Foothills last
spring.

"It's been interesting and it was hard at times," he said. "It got
to the point where we needed to find a home and I have that here.
Coach Vaughan and everybody here have welcomed me with open arms
and it has been awesome.

"I haven't felt like this since Cathedral."

Anyone who saw him play at Saguaro might not recognize Faunce
today. He has grown 2 inches and added 45 pounds since he showed up
in Arizona and sits at 5-foot-111/2 and 195 pounds.

It has given him more confidence than ever to go along with the bit
of experience he gained with the team in 7-on-7 competitions.

"It was very important to make sure I understood the offense,"
Faunce said of the timing on his arrival. "I am still having some
troubles here and there, but we are working on that. More
importantly, it has allowed me to develop some leadership, which is
very important at quarterback."

For the first time in his career, Faunce is in an offense that
begins most plays under center rather than in the shotgun out of a
spread offense.

"The footwork was the hardest part, but Coach Vaughan has done a
great job of working with me," Faunce said. "He is a great coach
for quarterbacks. The individual, one-on-one time he has put in
with me has been huge in my development."

Desert Vista coach Dan Hinds doesn't have a named starter to focus
on just yet as the three quarterbacks attempt to distinguish
themselves heading into Wednesday's scrimmage at Tucson Ironwood
Ridge.